2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Engine Specs, Mpg Figures

Hyundai has the goal of being at or near the top of the eco-friendly auto market by the time 2020 rolls around, and they are dipping into a number of segments to prove it.

The new eco-friendly vehicles that they deliver will fall under the Blue Drive sub brand, and they will get things started with the all-new Sonata hybrid 2016, which will be joined soon after by a Sonata Plug-In Hybrid that will be the first vehicle of its kind for Hyundai.

Once the plug-in hybrid hits the market, Hyundai will have a full range of eco-friendly models that are sure to help boost their brand.

North American consumers will get their first look at the new Sonata Hybrid at the 2015 North American International Motor Show, at which point the Koreans will also deliver further details of the plug-in hybrid model.

2016 Sonata Hybrid Specifications

What is known is that the Sonata Hybrid will have a Nu 2.0-liter GDI hybrid engine mated to a 38 kW electric motor under the hood.

The gas-powered engine delivers maximum power and torque of 156 ps and 19.3 kg.m, both of which are improvements (4% and 5.5%, respectively) over the outgoing model.

The electric motor gets an 8.6% max power increase to a maximum torque of 20.9 kg.m (205 Nm).

These improvements help the new model deliver much better fuel efficiency numbers.

Fuel economy figures: The class-leading combined rating comes in at 18.2 km/liter when riding on 16-inch wheels. And 17.7 km/liter on the 17-inch wheels.

Transmission: Hyundai uses an innovative 6-speed automatic transmission to deliver power from the engine to the road.

This particular unit was officially launched at the International Powertrain Conference in October. It cuts down on energy loss and increases fuel efficiency by housing most of the powertrain components inside the transmission.

The torque convertor has been taken out of this transmission and replaced with a more efficient traction motor. Drag is reduces and power is more efficiently transferred thanks to a new engine clutch and a lighter torsion damper.

The oil pump system is where the biggest changes to fuel efficiency can be found. The old mechanical oil pump has been taken out and replaced with a new electric variant. The transmission is now able to automatically gauge the driving conditions and optimize the operations accordingly.

Battery: A lithium-polymer battery pack remains part of the set-up. Hyundai were the first automaker to use such an efficient battery in their vehicles, and it has been further improved in this model, with capacity increased by 13.3% to 1.62 kilowatt-hour.

The battery resides under the floor trunk to leave a flat area that allows for an increase in cargo space. There is now 10.5% more available space, with the 60/40 split-folding seats also helping the cause.

This new 2016 Sonata will be similar to the first hybrid version in that it incorporates full parallel hybrid architecture.

The benefit here is that the Sonata can generate electricity and deliver t to the electric motor when the car is braking or riding with low engine loads.

If the load is low, the engine will cut off when the vehicle is stationary, saving fuel and lowering emissions in the process.